Some Scientists Fear The End Of The World Could Begin In Nine Days

In nine days the Large Hadron Collider will be switched on. Some scientists fear that will be the end of the world. They believe that the world's biggest experiment will create a black hole and swallow the Earth.

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has cost 4.4 billion pounds. When it is turned on it could unlock the secrets behind the Big Bang or just give the globe a huge bye-bye.

The LHC's goal is to smash sub-atomic particles together at close to the speed of light. It's believed that this could for a fraction of a second recreate the conditions that existed after the birth of the universe.

The LHC i housed 300 foot beneath the French-Swiss border near Geneva at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, or CERN. It is there in nine days that the experiment will begin unless critics get their way in stopping it.

The concern is that by recreating the Big Bang mini black holes will also be created. Within just four years those mini black holes could swell big enough to suck the Earth inside out. These critics claim that the experiments are a direct violation of the right to life under the European Convention of Human Rights. The European Court of Human Rights is not expected to delay the experiment.

Professor Rossler, a German chemist, said that CERN has admitted that the project will create black holes. These black holes are not being considered to be a risk.

Rossler warned: 'My own calculations have shown it is quite plausible that these little black holes survive and will grow exponentially and eat the planet from the inside. I have been calling for CERN to hold a safety conference to prove my conclusions wrong but they have not been willing.'

CERN says that large particle colliders have been around for 30 years. If there was a danger they would have already happened.

He told the Sunday Telegraph: 'The Large Hadron Collider will not be producing anything that does not happen routinely in nature due to cosmic rays. If they were dangerous we would know about it already.'

So will the experiment be a Big Bang or a Black Hole Maker? Only the future knows that answer.